From Defeat To Victory

"Shoot him."

If it was any other person saying it, Thrawn would have laughed. He was over five kilometers away from the Jedi. No one could be this accurate, especially when the clone he had called - Dab - was standing, with no support or stable surface whatsoever. But something in Ragout's voice made him freeze. Maybe it was the lack of emotion, or the confidence with which he said it, as if Dab hitting the target was already guaranteed. Maybe it was the fact that he had thoroughly studied Hell Squad, and knew everything there was to know about them. Facts remain, he felt danger. An unbelievable amount of danger, as if his life was hanging by a thread. Which it was.

He reacted quickly, and pushed the newly promoted droid captain in front of him. That action saved his life, because in the next second, a blue laser pierced a hole through the clancker's head, exactly where he was a moment before. A second laser, fired shortly after the first one, hit his left arm, sending him staggering backwards.

He expected more lasers to follow, but instead, there was only silence. He could see it his hologram projector the Jedi smiling with a nonchalant look on his face. Embarrassed, he realized that he had forgotten how righteous the Jedis thought they were. They would never target a defenseless enemy. Still, the clones besides him weren't so merciful, and Dab had clearly fired to kill.

Using the Force, Ragout pulled the hologram projector that the droid was carrying, and looked at Thrawn. Dageer stepped forward, and cut off the emissary's head.

"General Thrawn, you sent suicide bombers, monsters, and tried to use poison against my troops. Hell Squad here lost many good brothers because of you. As you surely are thinking, I am different from other Jedis. Many of your counterparts have pointed that out to me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've seen too much war, and that I am tired of it. Unless you and your troops run back to your hiding holes, we will be forced to kill you. I'm not gonna be the one to hold Hell Squad back."

Ragout had to admit that Thrawn was quite impressive. Even though he had just been shot, the Chiss had quickly regained his composure, and maintained a stone-cold expression as they talked.

"If my eyes do not deceive me, you are only eight, Master Jedi. How exactly do you plan on killing all of us?"

Ragout laughed out loud, and even Hell Squad couldn't help but chuckle when they heard the Separatist. They weren't good or stupid enough to think they could destroy sixty thousand droids by themselves. But that never was their plan.

"Haha! I didn't say I would end all the piles of scrap metal behind you, Thrawn. I said I would kill you. And I'm sure you read the reports about me and Hell Squad. You know we can do that."

Having said that, Ragout threw the hologram projector on the ground, and resumed walking. Hell Squad followed him, three to the left, four to the right. Even though they were walking to their deaths, they felt no fear.

"Remember, follow the plan."

"Leave it to us, general. You got the hard part, so try not to die."

"Hahaha..."

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Thrawn looked at the wound in his arm dismissively, not at all bothered by the pain. What worried him the most was not knowing what the Republic dogs were up to. He liked to be in control, and when things didn't make sense, he got angry.

Suddenly, the group that had been calmly walking towards them split up. Dageer and his men found cover on the sides of the road, leaving only Ragout in the middle. He had a grin on his face, and turned on his lightsaber.

It was then that Thrawn realized the Togruta had already achieved his objective, and that he had fallen to the Jedi's trick.

"Republic scum! All troops, advance. They are just wasting our time. Petty tricks!"

All Ragout wanted was to give the soldiers on the frontlines more time, so they could cause more damage to the Separatist. In other words, the Jedi was a sore loser, who couldn't accept his defeat. That's why only he and Hell Squad faced Thrawn, so he would think there was a trap, and hesitate. But there was no trap, no plan, no nothing.

Or so he thought.

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Even as the clanckers under his command fired the first lasers, and Ragout deflected them, Dageer and Hell Squad waited quietly. Thrawn might have an army of sixty thousand with him, but since he didn't have any vehicles with him, only twenty or thirty could aim and fire at the Jedi at a time. The front rows of the army blocked the view of the ones behind.

Of course, thirty droids firing at the same time was still a huge number. However, it was still doable for Ragout. Dodging and weaving, he managed to survive for a few more seconds, which was all they needed.

"Whenever you feel like it, Dageer!"

"They are coming, sir! Hold on for a little while more."

Having said that, Dageer squeezed the trigger of his DC-15A twice, killing one tin can with each laser. The droids were so closely packed that it would be difficult to miss even if he wanted to.

Suddenly, from the windows of the buildings and from the side streets, thousands of blue lasers hit the droid army. Although poorly coordinated, the attack managed to destroy thousands of units in a single swoop. And, from everywhere, the coward Christophsians appeared, to fight for their planet.

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Taka was the general of the Christophsian Army

allocated under Governor Omé. For months now, he had been asking to fight, but because of stupid political reasons, he never received permission.

When Ragout came to him, he didn't hesitate to join the young Jedi, even if it meant going against the orders of the superior. One of the reasons why he did so was because Ragout was honest with him, exposing the entire situation, and their low chances of victory. Another was that he simply wanted to piss off Omé, since the governor would rather let his people die than utilize his army. Of course, the main reason was that he wanted to free his planet of the Separatist oppression.

And so, as crazy and suicidal as he thought the Jedi's plan was, he went along with it. Two hundred thousand clones wouldn't be easy to hide from the Separatist, but two hundred thousand Christophsians could easily pass by as scared civilians, hiding in their homes.

Taka had to admit that his army was poorly trained, and barely better than recruits. For many, that was their first battle. But they did well. In their overconfidence, the droids had neglected protecting their flank, and were crushed.

Four and a half hours later, the battle was ending, and the Christophsian general entered the battlefield while letting his subordinates deal with the stragglers. He wanted to find Ragout and Hell Squad, if they were still alive.